Features

What is Crossrider?

Crossrider is a cloud-based development framework that lets you quickly and easily create cross browser extensions. The process is simple; all you need is basic knowledge of JavaScript to write one code that works across all major browsers - Chrome, Firefox, IE and Safari. Our platform also includes a ton of easy ways to publish, manage and even monetize your Crossrider Extension. Get Started

Do I need to learn a new programming language?

No. To develop your own cross browser extension you only need to know standard JavaScript. We also provide native built-in support for the jQuery library including jQuery plugins.

How fast is it to build a Crossrider Extension?

Extremely fast! Building a Hello World cross browser extension takes less than two minutes. From there your options are limitless. And once you're ready to share your awesome extension we make it super easy for your friends and users to install it.

Is Crossrider free?

The Crossrider Extension platform is free of charge unless you want to use your own monetization. In case that you want to use your own monetaztion or any other 3rd party (non Crossrider) then please contact support@crossrider.com for our licensing fees.

What are the benefits of developing with Crossrider?

Crossrider lets you develop cross browser extensions in minutes - code once and deploy to all browsers. It's free and all you need to know is standard JavaScript. Building a Hello World extension literally takes a couple of minutes, from there your options are limitless.

When it comes to code updates, you don't have to do a thing, the Crossrider secured SSL auto update mechanism ensures all your users are always up-to-date with the latest code version.

You can track the success of your app with Crossrider Stats by measuring the number of installs and active users, with a breakdown by country or browser. On top of that you can even generate revenues from your Crossrider Extension with our monetization tools.

We are constantly thinking of new ways to make our developers lives easier, so we keep an ear out for feedback and suggestions from the community.

Crossrider Basics

How do I get started?

Getting started is simple, all you have to do is sign-up (it's free!). We recommend taking a look through the Developer Center first where you can preview a Demo App, or you can go through the documentation in the Docs. Alternatively watch a screencast to see how it's done.

What is the difference between a browser extension and a Crossrider Extension?

There is no real difference, a Crossrider Extension is a browser extension (also known as an add-on), with the added benefit that you only have to code once for your app to support all browsers.
We do this by automatically generating a native version of your extension for each browser.

We support most features for native extensions but there may be some we don't. If you have a feature that you'd like us to support on all browsers, we'd love to know.

Which browsers do you support?

We support the following:

Internet Explorer 7 and above

Chrome - all versions

Firefox - 3.6 and above

Safari

We support future browser versions as they are released.

We plan to support Opera in the future. How soon? Depends on demand from our community.

What happens when a new browser version is released?

Our goal is to support all browser and all versions. When new versions are released we make sure to support them so you don't have to worry about a thing, (your extension will automatically update to the new version).

What is Crossrider's “Auto Update” mechanism?

Crossrider's Auto Updates allow you to keep your users up to date with your latest code automatically and seamlessly.

There are two types of auto update. The most common one is for your extension's code where the extension at your users end checks for new updates every several hours. Whenever you publish new code it automatically updates at the user's end as well, without the need for a browser restart (contact us If you have to lower this “check interval”).

The second type of auto-update is related to more extension-oriented properties such as your extension name, description, icons etc. Changing them requires the re-building of your extension's core files (.crx, .xpi, .exe). When you make an update your users' browsers will be notified that the extension file needs to be updated.

Monetization

Can I generate revenues from my Crossrider Extension?

Yes! We have a selection of monetization tools for you to choose from.

How do I add monetization to my Crossrider Extension?

Contact us and we will enable your chosen monetization tool for your extension

Policy

How safe are Crossrider Extensions?

Crossrider is a way to create extensions which are safer than regular native browser extensions, as we make sure all products on our platform adhere to rigorous security checks. We're constantly working on ensuring Crossrider Extensions are safer than ever for both you and your end-users.

Are auto-code updates safe?

Yes. Auto-code updates are safe and are performed over an SSL connection. We also check for any malicious code included to a developer's code-update. We will take action against any abuse that puts end-users at risk.

Technical

What can I do with the Crossrider API?

The Crossrider API acts as your direct channel of communication between your extension and the browser, so that you can save data locally using the database API, make cross-domain GET and POST requests, enable keyboard shortcuts, bind selected text events, and much more. Check out the Docs for more API methods. We are constantly working on extending and improving our API.

How can users install my Crossrider Extension?

Users can install your extension by going to your website and selecting the installation button or sliding installation bar that we provide you with, (found on the Widget Generator page, within the Publishing Tools section).

If you don't have your own website users can go to a (customizable) installation page hosted on Crossrider. If you want something even simpler, we provide download links that you can share with friends.

Check out the Publishing Tools section from your extension’s Settings for more.

How can I change or disable my extension’s default Thank You page?

The Thank You page is completely optional to use.You can disable it altogether or if you wish to set another URL you can do that as well. Visit the Thank You page Settings in to customize it to your needs.

How can I develop my Crossrider Extension locally?

We have a debug package that allows you to easily develop locally. Go to the Debug Mode section inside your extension and follow the simple steps. Once you have successfully set everything up you will be able to develop on your own computer and within your own development environment.

What are Production and Staging Apps?

Before you start developing your app it's important to understand the different modes each extension has.
For easier development and deployment we have created a Production mode and a Staging mode for each extension.

Production mode is the live extension, that users are installing and using. As your user base grows, updating your extension becomes a more delicate situation, as it will affect all your "live" users.
This is why we have created Staging mode.

Staging mode allows you to develop, test and edit your code or settings safely, while viewing changes in real time without affecting your live extension users.

Once you have finished developing your extension in Staging mode you can use the "Sync with production" button (top left corner of the header, inside Staging extension) to push all changes to the live users.

Editing extensions in Production can be enabled (by clicking the “Enable Editing” button right below the header, in Production mode). However, we strongly recommend you always edit and test in staging mode before publishing to production.

What are the different scopes of the extension code?

Crossrider currently has 2 code execution scopes; Page Code which runs on each page load and Background Code which always runs in the background.

Page code runs on each page's document ready ("document_end" in Chrome) and executes immediately after the DOM has completed loading, but before other resources like images and frames have started to load.

Background code constantly runs in the background and is responsible for everything that takes place in the background process of the extension. For example you can do a request to your server and retrieve necessary information every 3 hours. You can easily communicate between the Background Code and Page Code using the messaging API.

You can also run your code before page load by using our WebRequest API.

Uninstalling Crossrider Extension

You can easily uninstall any Crossrider Extension by following these steps for each web browser or operating system: